Former WWE Superstar Eva Marie has penned a new blog on alcoholism and addiction for InStyle.com. You can see the full article at this link.

“I’m an alcoholic,” she wrote. “I have relapsed, destroyed relationships, hurt my family, and disappointed myself numerous times. I will be an alcoholic for the rest of my life. The fact that I have been sober for almost five years doesn’t mean that I am ‘cured,’ it doesn’t mean that I had a drinking phase in my 20s, and it doesn’t mean that I can have a few drinks now and again or just drink in moderation. There are no shades of gray when it comes to alcoholism—it’s black and white. Either I am an alcoholic or I am not. Working a program doesn’t mean my past magically disappears and everything is fine. Unfortunately, nothing of note in life is that simple or easy. Yet the road to my recovery did start with a very simple admission: I am an alcoholic. And admitting that truth saved my life.”

Marie wrote about how bad things had gotten, noting that she spent three months in jail due to a series of DUIs.

“Before I started working my 12-step program, my mind was a mess, my life was a mess, and I’d hit rock bottom. I served three months in jail for repeated DUIs. I didn’t have a license, I didn’t have a stable job, and I was living in an apartment that I could only afford due to a heavy discount my landlord offered me because a murder had taken place there between the previous tenants. That’s what my life looked like right before I started down my road to sobriety.”

You can read her full blog post here. Eva also took to Instagram and posted on how hard it was to open up for the blog:

It was difficult to open up publicly about my Alcoholism and recovery, but I’m very happy I did. CLICK LINK IN BIO to read the entire article.-

One thing I’ve realized over the years is that alcoholism affects an incredible amount of people, yet there is still a sense of embarrassment or shame when an alcoholic or family member of an alcoholic wants to talk about their disease. I used to be incredibly embarrassed, so much so that I avoided getting help because I felt like only “weak” people can’t handle something on their own and I was embarrassed that people would judge me and look at me negatively.

I am so happy I no longer feel this way, and I want to encourage anyone who is struggling with addiction to take that first step of asking for help, it will literally save your life.

–

To those starting a program, stick with it, your life won’t magically transform over night, there will be extreme highs and extreme lows, the chances are you will relapse at least once, but Don’t quit, keep pushing forward no matter how hard it gets. I PROMISE you it’s worth it in the end.

Eva Marie spoke with GQ on a number of topics in and outside of pro wrestling. Here are some of the highlights:

Similarities between pro wrestling and acting:

“Honestly, they are very similar. In the ring, you’re constantly working out and honing your craft, and you’re doing the same thing with acting, too—taking classes and working with vocal coaches. I think the thing that stands out for me is that in the WWE, we were in a new city every night. When you go to a movie set, though, you get to be at the same location for awhile. I had become very used to not even bothering to unpack my suitcase. Suddenly, it was like, ‘Oh wow, I get to stay in one place!'”

How her workouts have changes since leaving WWE:

“Oh, my workouts have definitely changed. In WWE, I focused more on Olympic lifting. I had to make sure that I was physically able to lift another human being at all times. Now, I’m going for a different, leaner look. High-intensity interval training and Tabata workouts are really good for me, because they prevent me from getting bored, and don’t require me to be in the gym for two hours. I can get in, do what I need to do, and get out.”

Her cheat meals:

“Oh my God, there are so many! I’m Mexican and Italian, so my mom is a fantastic cook. I s–t you not, every time I go back home, I gain, like, 10 pounds, just because her food is so hard for me to turn down. Plus, I’m not there all the time, so I give myself a little allowance to enjoy it more. I’m a sucker for bacon waffles—they’re to die for. And I love banana pancakes. I should just honestly film my cheat day because people would be impressed by how much food I can put down. When my husband and I first started dating, I had just started my WWE tryouts—I think I was in my third week. I went over to his place and he made banana pancakes. I really liked them, so he asked ‘Do you want another one?’ That kept going, and I swear I put down about 20 of them. I was training at the time, but also, they were that good. I do not play around when it comes to cheat days.”

Eva Marie spoke with ESPN W on a number of topics in and outside of pro wrestling. Here are some of the highlights:

Getting move to WWE’s main roster after just two weeks of formal training:

“I’m a perfectionist, so I would have liked to have trained more first. However, I truly think opportunities come up once in a lifetime and if you don’t take it, you’re going to miss out.”

The Rock:

“I love talking to The Rock. He’s done the transition from WWE to the mainstream so well. He always tells me to stay my lane, not to compare myself to other people and just do the work. He’s been fantastic and I’m really fortunate to have that relationship with him. … It would be great to emulate his career, but we’ll see what happens.”

Life after WWE:

“I want it all. I really want to expand with movies and I would love to land on a TV show, like a Netflix original series, that would be fantastic. I want to do a lot of charity work — I’m a person that’s in recovery [from an alcohol addiction] so I really want to put out that message as well. There’s a lot that I want to do, the sky is the limit. I want to dabble in everything. I wish I did have time to relax, but I’m a Virgo and it’s just not in me. I think the hustle is just in my blood — always hungry, never satisfied.”

As seen above, former WWE Superstar Eva Marie is featured on the latest episode of Complex Magazine’s “Out of Bounds” show. The show also features former adult film star Mia Khalifa as a co-host. Khalifa received backlash from wrestlers and wrestling fans after she ripped WWE on a recent episode, calling it “embarrassing” and “not a real sport,” noting that she has no respect for WWE. Khalifa has since accepted an invitation to attend an upcoming indie wrestling event in Austin, TX to see if she changes her mind.

“Some moves are [choreographed], so like you’ll go over your finish, whoever’s gonna win or lose because that’s predetermined,” Eva said. “However, when you’re in there, usually you’re just going toe-to-toe. So like, if I have you in a headlock, then I’m telling you right then and there what we’re doing next.

“You have your producers in the back, adjusting to the crowd. ‘Hey, uh, actually we’re gonna go this way. Change the finish, change whatever you have going on.’ So you can’t really choreograph the dance because everything gets mixed up.”

Eva also commented on the difference between acting & wrestling as she continued to pursue her Hollywood career.

“You have to put your body through a lot of physicality with wrestling,” Eva stated. “You’re saying you think it’s fake, however when you get in the ring, you’re really taking those bumps…Then when it comes to acting, you’re trying to get out of yourself and be a whole other person, which also helps with WWE, too, because you’re playing a character at the end of the day.”

Eva also compared sports and commented on pro wrestling not having an off-season.

“NFL, NBA, they all have off-seasons. Wrestling doesn’t have an off-season. We’re on the road 209 days out of the year, performing in different cities every single night. Where you have your NBA, and NFL and major league and they’re taking charter flights going to the next city. We’re driving in rent-a-cars to the next city.”

As noted, WWE and Eva Marie announced this past week that the two sides have parted ways. Eva, who is now focused on furthering her acting career, recently spoke with Rolling Stone about her departure at this link. Below are highlights from the interview:

Is it fair to say that when you’ve remarked in recent months about possibly returning to WWE and going after the title, you were just being coy?

I have such a great relationship with Vince [McMahon], Paul [“Triple H” Levesque] and Stephanie [McMahon]. They gave me an opportunity to step away and film these two films I have done already, and you never know when that relationship will come back. So I might appear at a SummerSlam or WrestleMania. It just so happens that the wrestling craft, you have to be able to give yourself 110 percent to that. And then with acting, you have to do the same, so we decided together that with the films going back to back. I’m going to put my efforts into acting and growing that way. And then you never know: All Red Everything could come back and snatch that title.

Did you and your team identify that a female wrestler has yet to cross over as The Rock or John Cena has? That maybe this is that moment?

One hundred percent. I like to break barriers. As soon as I walked into WWE’s door, I was already thinking ahead of the game. There has not been one female to make that crossover and go back and forth and merge the two together. I want to bring the WWE universe with me into Hollywood as well as creating a new fanbase in Hollywood and bringing them back into WWE and having the two worlds collide just like The Rock. That was the game plan for sure.

In retrospect, were you put in front of the cameras on Total Divas too soon, at the expense of developing under the radar?

You know what? Yes. For sure, the inner athlete and perfectionist in me wishes I was able to train the multiple years these wrestlers are able to before they get on TV. However, if that opportunity never came up, then I would not have been put in front of the WWE universe, dyed my hair, been put in front of my [management] team. Everything happens for a reason. For me, it all played out pretty damn good.

Eva Marie was being lined up as a potential WWE Women’s Champion prior to her suspension, according to reports.

Reputed industry insider Da Belt Guy claims that the company had made side plates bearing her name when they first ordered a new women’s belt – presumably the SmackDown one, currently worn by Naomi – last year.

But the 32-year-old was taken off TV shortly after the draft following a Wellness Policy violation, after which Alexa Bliss stepped into the role of SmackDown’s leading woman.

It was reported at the time by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer that WWE was about to make her champion – and news that they were preparing her belt will therefore come as little surprise to most.

Having been absent for more than a year, Marie’s departure from the company was officially confirmed last week following the news that she would not be appearing in the upcoming Total Divas season.

The announcement marks an end to her four-year stint in WWE (and possibly professional wrestling in general), the highlight of which was perhaps her 2014 feud with then-Divas Champion AJ Lee.

With the news of Eva Marie not returning for Season 7 of Total Divas (or the company in general), there was bound to be some sort of shakeup for the long-running E! series. It sounds like there will actually be two replacements for the “love to hate” red-headed wrestler and both women are currently on the Raw brand.

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, both Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss will be joining the reality show for the upcoming season.

We’ve seen a lot of changes on Total Divas over the years, as the initial season had Cameron (released from the company), Naomi (removed from the show in Season 3), JoJo (also removed from the show) as well as later castmate Rosa Mendes departing as well.

E! is likely hoping that the additions of Jax and Bliss will help turn things around. Much like Raw and SmackDown, Total Divas has seen a significant drop in viewership over the past few years. Initially, it drew about a million viewers a week, now they’re dipping under 600,000 on a consistent basis. However, without the biggest “villain” on the series returning as a regular cast member, that’s going to be tough to do.